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Senate Panel May Mark Up Self-Driving Vehicle Bill by Columbus Day

A Senate bill that would regulate self-driving vehicles might be marked up before
the Columbus Day break if Republicans and Democrats can agree on whether to include
commercial vehicles, the Commerce Committee chairman told reporters Sept. 13.

Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.)
will have to work with Senate Democrats like his fellow bill author, Sen. Gary Peters
(D-Mich.), to craft legislation that allays concerns about safety, cybersecurity and
the impact on workers of self-driving commercial vehicles.

A similar House bill passed Sept. 6 without a trucking provision, in part because
the committee that drafted the bill does not have jurisdiction over trucking.

“I’m hoping that we find a kind of way to work with the Democrats to strike the right
balance—sort of thread the needle, if you will,” Thune told reporters after the hearing.
“But obviously we want this to be a bipartisan effort. There’s a real need, I think,
for Congress to act in this space.”

Truck Drivers and Safety

While leaders of the American Trucking Associations
(ATA) and the Teamsters union agree there is a shortage of truck drivers, they were
at odds over including self-driving trucks in the new regulatory framework.

Self-driving technology won’t replace drivers, but could make long-haul trips safer
and more efficient, ATA President Chris Spear said. He urged the Senate to create
a framework that allows commercial trucks to benefit from the innovation of self-driving
technology and give the industry “one seamless standard at the federal level.”

Truck drivers worry about the safety of the technology and the possibility of increased
tracking of workers, General Secretary-Treasurer of the Teamsters union Ken Hall.

Companies push the boundaries of safety and do not properly self-regulate, he said,
pointing to cheating by Volkswagen AG on emissions standards and air bag failures
with Takata Corp.

“The fear of many transportation workers is that absent strong action and guidance
from this committee and others, a new generation of autonomous vehicles will provide
limitless opportunity for this same pattern of reckless behavior,” Hall said during
the hearing.

Cybersecurity

Senators also wanted to know whether cybersecurity should be included in the proposed
regulatory framework. Several members of the committee raised concerns about hacking
and computer-operated trucks.

Thune said that’s why the Senate ought to address those safety concerns in legislation.

Reconciling House, Senate Bills

Senate committee staff members have had informal conversations with House staff to
resolve differences between the two bills, including the potential inclusion of trucks.

“But I think ultimately [House members]
realize like we do that we’re going to have to deal with the trucking issue too in
some fashion,” Thune said. “So if we could do it here—however we end up resolving
this in the end—get everybody in the same place, I think that would be a good outcome.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Shaun Courtney in Washington at
scourtney@bna.com

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Paul Hendrie at
pHendrie@bna.com

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